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Finished casserole in the baking dish

Gluten Free Baked Johnny Marzetti

A classic casserole of macaroni baked with a ground beef tomato sauce and cheese. A perfect weeknight meal, with a salad.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Casseroles, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian-American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp olive oil plus extra for the baking dish
  • 400-500 g ground meat of your choice (1 lb.)
  • 1 medium to large onion chopped
  • ½-1 large sweet pepper chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes (400g/14 oz.)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • OR around 200g/7 oz. tomato passata/tomato sauce simmer longer to cook off extra liquid
  • ¾ salt to taste
  • ⅓ tsp coarsely ground pepper to taste
  • ½ tsp sugar to taste
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend plus more to sprinkle on top as desired
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 300 ml dry macaroni (1¼ cup, or ½ British pint)
  • 2 cups grated cheese of choice (500ml - maybe 150-200g, to preference) divided into two parts
  • OR 1½ c. plus 4 slices American cheese to layer in the middle for extra smoothness

Method
 

  1. Fry the crumbled meat over medium heat in a deep skillet. Once it is partly cooked, add in the onion and sweet pepper.
    Pan of frying ground meat with chopped onion and red pepper just added
  2. Once the onions and pepper are soft, and the meat is starting to brown, add in the minced garlic and fry a few more minutes.
  3. Start the oven preheating to 350℉ / 180℃.
  4. When the garlic is smelling cooked but not browning, add in the canned tomatoes. Scrape up any browned meat bits, and deglaze the pan with the tomato juices.
  5. Add in the other tomato products and the seasonings. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until your sauce gets fairly thick. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
  6. While that's simmering, cook the macaroni to al dente in salted water, and drain.
    If you're using one of the gluten free pastas that turns mushy very easily, cook it just short of what you'd normally consider al dente. This Semper brand that I'm using here oddly refuses to overcook and fall apart, so I boiled it to a regular eating consistency.
  7. Oil an 8x8/20x20 baking dish well, and set aside for the casserole.
Casserole Assembly
  1. Stir the drained pasta into your saucy meat mixture.
    strainer of cooked macaroni sits next to a pan of meat sauce
  2. Time to start layering. Spread around half the saucy macaroni mixture across the bottom of the oiled dish.
    casserole dish and the components to go into it
  3. Then layer some of the cheese on top of that.
    The sliced American is a totally optional touch, but I thought it might add some extra smoothness in the middle. Nice thick slices of proper deli American would be much better, but cheese singles (actually sold as "burger cheese" here) are all I can get without making my own--which I will have to try one of these days! If you don't want this, just use extra grated cheese as usually called for.
    Cheese distributed on top of the first layer of macaroni.
  4. Layer on the rest of the macaroni and meat, then top with the rest of the cheese.
    I opted to sprinkle a little of this local "Italian" herb seasoning over the top of the cheese. This is also very optional.
    Assembled casserole with cheese on top, and a hand holding a bottle of Italian herb seasoning
  5. Ready for the oven!
    Finished casserole ready for the oven
  6. Cover with foil tented up a bit away from the cheese, and bake for 30 minutes or until it's very hot and bubbly all the way through.
    Foil covered casserole dish
  7. Remove the foil, and bake another 10 minutes or so to let the cheese brown a little.
    Finished casserole in the baking dish
  8. Let rest out of the oven for 10-15 minutes before digging in. This will make 4 big pieces, or 6 smaller servings. Enjoy!